Recent content by livendive

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    Difficulty of changing from old to new shift interrupt switch/frame?

    I have a 1997 Silverton with twin 5.7LX engines and Alpha One Gen 2 drives. I roasted one of the engines last year and am in the final stages of installing a rebuilt replacement. During disassembly, I broke one of the wires off the old McGill style shift interrupt switch (it looked like the...
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    Dinghy prop - No more 8-3/8 diameters?

    I have a 9.5' inflatable with a 5 hp Mercury 2 stroke. The existing prop is 8-3/8 by 7 pitch, and it'll plane me (230 lbs) and my smaller dog (50 lbs) with no issues, however can't quite get me and my wife (125 lbs) up on top. The prop is pretty dinged up, and the last time I tried to replace...
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    Anything special about sealing a bolt hole?

    1997 Silverton 310, solid fiberglass bottom (non-cored). I thought I was getting a small trickle of water into the bilge from poorly sealed threads on the drain plug in the cabin. After cleaning up those threads and putting some teflon tape in there, I saw that the trickle was actually coming...
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    Running rich, timing, and the order of checking/fixing things

    First things first, my mechanicals skills are sub-par. I've torn down and put an engine back together before, but it's been 20+ years ago, and most of my experience since then has involved signing a credit car receipt. The ?professional? options in my area aren?t particularly compelling, and I...
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    help identifying cabin lock

    So my google button is worn out, and I've yet to figure out what to call this type of lock so that I can look for a replacement. Basically a push in extends the piston into the plate behind the door, and a turn keeps it from coming back out. The lock itself is fairly worn, I only have one key...
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    GPS install

    So I have a "new" (to me) boat, with minimal electronics, and a "new" (to me) Garmin GPSMAP 546s with transom transducer. There does appear to be a thru-hull transducer already in the boat, as the one piece of electronics besides the VHF indicates current depth, speed, and a mileage log of...
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    gah...work sucks

    My new (to me) boat is approaching the end of a 1900 mile tow and should be delivered to my house in about 4 hours. According to the USPS tracking page, my new chartplotter is currently "out for delivery". Trying to concentrate on work is simply not happening! :D Can I go home and play with...
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    12V set up on your inflatable?

    So I've got a little electric trolling motor and a new-ish battery to run it, but I'm not sure how safe it is to have a bunch of sulfuric acid & potential sparks on board an inflatable. Those of you who use such things, how do you secure things to reduce water on the battery, wires from being a...
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    Getting to know my new boat/trailer combo

    ...the trial by fire method. So last week I bought a 1997 Silverton 310, 2000 miles from home. The best bid I received on shipping it to me was willing to drop another $1,000 if I had my own trailer. I found an ok deal on a 2008 Venture triple axle (VATB-12625) and wired the money to my boat...
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    Shopping list for a new boat

    So it's been a pretty expensive week. I bought a Silverton 310, a trailer for it, a 9.5' inflatable dinghy for it, with 5 hp Merc OB, and a chartplotter. I bought a year's worth of insurance, and paid an initiation fee to the local yacht club, and am now ready to work on the smaller but no...
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    what type of bottom/floor do I want?

    So I'm in the process of buying a 32' cruiser and am going to want a dinghy to run around in. I'm thinking 9-10', with a 5-10 hp motor. I want to be able to plane it up easily with two adults and our 50 lb dog, and I'd prefer that it still be able to plane with 3 adults even if that takes a...
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    What do you look for during sea trial?

    So I've got a condition and value survey done on what will potentially be my first boat, and the subsequent engine tests should happen today or tomorrow. My plane tickets are booked for a sea trial on September 7th, and my surveyor will be accompanying me to hit the important points. Still, I'm...
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